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negativism

[ neg-uh-ti-viz-uh m ]
/ ˈnɛg ə tɪˌvɪz əm /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR negativism ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a negative or pessimistic attitude.
Psychology. a tendency to resist external commands, suggestions, or expectations, or internal stimuli, as hunger, by doing nothing or something contrary or unrelated to the stimulus.
any system of negative philosophy, as agnosticism or skepticism.

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Origin of negativism

First recorded in 1815–25; negative + -ism

OTHER WORDS FROM negativism

neg·a·tiv·ist, nounneg·a·tiv·is·tic, adjectivenon·neg·a·tiv·ism, nounnon·neg·a·tiv·is·tic, adjective

Words nearby negativism

negative tax, negative theology, negative transfer, negative-raising, negative-strand virus, negativism, negaton, negator, negatory, negatron, negev
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to negativism

action, hostility, resistance, struggle, violation, antithesis, competition, counteraction, defense, brush, clash, combat, contest, engagement, disapproval, grapple, encounter, contrariety, war, conflict

Example sentences from the Web for negativism

British Dictionary definitions for negativism

negativism
/ (ˈnɛɡətɪvˌɪzəm) /

noun

a tendency to be or a state of being unconstructively critical
any sceptical or derisive system of thought
psychiatry refusal to do what is expected or suggested or the tendency to do the opposite

Derived forms of negativism

negativist, noun, adjectivenegativistic, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for negativism

negativism
[ nĕg′ə-tĭ-vĭz′əm ]

n.

A tendency to do the opposite of what one is requested to do, or to resist stubbornly for no apparent reason.

Other words from negativism

neg′a•tiv•ist n.neg′a•tiv•is′tic adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.